That first hat was very difficult for me because I had never done anything like it before, and my then-boyfriend lost his winter hat, so I really wanted to make him one from scratch.

After a lot of hard work (it literally took me weeks to complete because I kept running into problems since it was my first time knitting in the round), I finished it. To my great joy, when I gave it to him for Christmas, it fit his head perfectly, and he loved it! (Funny thing was that a month later, he dumped me. And, yes, he kept the hat…although I’m not sure if the hat is now in the garbage or not. I hope he’s still wearing it because I put a lot of effort into it.)

So…this time, I decided to knit myself a hat. Didn’t know if I could do it, since I never used a cable needle before, and I never did any fancy patterns. I literally only knew how to cast on, knit, purl, and cast off.

But I still wanted to challenge myself to make the mustard hat because it’s totally my style, and I find that these types of hats not only keep me warm, but look good, too.

After just a few days of knitting for a couple of hours each time, I finished it, and I was thrilled with the results! It fit, it was warm, and I liked the design.

Haha, now I’m going to make the exact same hat in every colour I love. (Yes, really! I’m not kidding!)

I’ve also started thinking about what to give my baby niece and 2-year-old nephew for Christmas since the season will soon be upon us. When I went to Michael’s (the craft store) and saw pom-pom yarn, I knew I had to make my niece a baby blanket with it! For my nephew, I may knit him a hat and matching scarf. I’m not sure just yet. (Ideally, I want to learn how to crochet so I can make him knitted plush toys in the shape of an octopus or a frog.)

In today’s Smorgasbord Sundays post, I have a lot of photos to share with you. Some are of the progress of the hat I knit because I think it’s neat to see the journey from start to finish. And I’ll also show you how I’m coming along making the baby blanket. (It’s my first baby blanket!) 🙂

Knitting is quickly becoming a new addiction of mine. It’s right up there with nail polish, I’d dare say!

What I enjoy about it is that you can choose exactly what colour and yarn you want to use and then design the hat, scarf, blanket, or whatever you’ll be making. You can customize it completely, and nobody will have exactly the same thing as you. (Even if they knit the same thing, it won’t be 100% the same because every stitch you make is unique, so the outcome is slightly different.)

And it feels incredible wearing something you made yourself. It’s an accomplishment. Even though the mustard hat I made is a small thing, I felt very proud of it. And I felt like a trillion bucks when I wore it to the office and all my co-workers fawned over it and asked me about it.

Because of it, we even bonded in new ways since before, I didn’t even know that some of them were also knitters! Now we’re sharing ideas and techniques, talking about projects we’d like to work on, and even different types of yarn to use!

Just like how a love of nail polish can bring people together, so can knitting! 🙂

And what’s wonderful is that you don’t have to be highly skilled at knitting to make something nice. Look, I’m a beginner, and if I can knit this hat, you can, too. It just requires patience. And even if you make a mistake with a stitch, don’t get frustrated. Just like manicures, knitted projects don’t have to be perfect. As long as they make you happy, that’s what counts.

With this mustard hat, I made a few mistakes with stitches, but I’m not going to let that annoy me. I prefer to focus on the fact that I set out to knit something complicated (for me, this was the most complicated thing I’ve ever knit!), and I finished it. So I’m a happy camper!

And I figure that if anyone is going to take my hat and inspect every stitch for perfection, well, there’s something wrong with that person…haha! If I wanted a perfect hat, I could just buy one that was mass-produced and sold in a department store. I wanted a custom hat…and I got it, flaws and all. 🙂

So…are you ready to see some photos? (I took a lot!)

Here’s what I used to make the hat:

#11 Circular Needles (16 inches)

#10 Circular Needles (16 inches) – Haha, it’s missing from the package because I’m actually using it now to make the brim of another hat!

Stitch Markers – Used to indicate the end of the row/round

Yarn Needles – Used for tying a knot when you’re finishing the hat

Mustard yarn – Michael’s had it on sale for $3.99 CAD, so it was a must-buy! Plus, in case I forgot to mention, the hat I made uses less than one ball of this yarn! SCORE!

Cable Needle – Used for slipping stitches off one needle end and holding the stitches at the front or back of the work and then returning the stitches to the needle

It was my first time using a cable needle, and I must say that it was incredibly fun to use! You could also use double-pointed needles, but since I’m a beginner, I opted for the cable needle since I was afraid that it’d be easier for me to accidentally drop stitches with the double-pointed needles. The cable needle securely keeps your stitches in place. (It’s like a knitting security blanket.)

The beginning of this project is the hardest for me because you can’t visualize what the completed hat will look like yet.

Here’s what it looked like when I worked on the brim using the size 10 needles:

You can see the pattern change and how the hat starts to grow width-wise. I used the size 11 needles for this and the remainder of the hat.

Continued to knit while watching The Emmys…

It’s growing!

Here it is fully finished!

I like this shot the best because from the top, you can really see the shape and the design better. (Haha, and it reminds me of a Frisbee I used to play with when I was a child!) Plus I must be hungry because it now looks like a delicious apple pie. *She said with a strand of mustard yarn dangling from her mouth* 😉

After making that, I went back to Michael’s and bought more of the yarn since many of them were on sale for just $3.99 CAD! I was able to use a coupon for 40% off one item as well as a 20% off your entire purchase somehow. (Thought you couldn’t stack coupons, but the cashier did it!) 🙂

I also picked up an additional set of size 11 circular needles because I want to work on two hats instead of waiting to just finish one before I start another. (Yeah, I’m “going berserk,” as my dad would say.)

Edit: In case you’d like to knit this hat, this is where I got the pattern from. It’s free, and I found it online. The woman who designed it also has YouTube videos on how to knit it. I watched all 3 videos, and it made this project very easy! 🙂 I recommend you check out her YouTube channel and blog.

Here’s some yarn I picked up.

(I forgot to photograph the maroon one I got in this group shot, but you’ll see it later on in this post.)

Yup, all the yarn I bought for my future hats are cheap, unlike the yarn I used to make my ex-boyfriend’s hat last year. And I’m fine with that. As long as it’s durable (it is), it’s okay.

Eventually I will pony up and purchase a really high-quality wool or even cashmere yarn to work with, but I want to practice more first on less expensive yarn to improve my knitting technique before I make the investment.

I literally just started making a purple hat. Here is a picture of the stitches I cast on. In person, it looks more like a grape type of purple.

I really like purple, so I got a light purple, too.

Yes, I needed a swampy green. You know I’m a greeeen fieeend! 😉

A dusty blue…

A dusty rose…

A vivid turquoise…

Also, I’m curious to work with this one because the yarn has a slight sheen to it compared to the others. It should give the hat a different effect.

A rich maroon…

You may have noticed that I chose solid colours for my yarn. That’s because when you’re a beginner, it’s easier to see what you’re doing when the yarn is just one colour. Eventually, I’ll want to branch out and go for cool tweed-like, multi-colour yarn because the hat will look completely different.

I know you were probably the most curious about the Bunny Tail yarn, right? 😀 Isn’t it so adorable? Now do you understand why I just had to make my niece a baby blanket with it?

It’s incredibly soft and light. In the store, I found myself petting this yarn like a weirdo. 😉

It came in different colour combinations and even solid colours, but I opted for this. I didn’t want to make a gender-stereotypical pink blanket for baby girls.

(There’s nothing wrong with pink, but when given the choice to choose traditional gender colours like pink for girls and blue for boys, I’ve been known to go out of my way to avoid them. Why? I don’t believe in assigning colour to gender. If they had green, I would’ve picked that instead since it’s neutral. Haha, no surprise about the green!)

This colour combination really reminded me of bedtime, and I pictured my niece sleeping under it. How precious!

Here are the cute bunny tails up close! Awwwwwww! I wish you could pet it through your screen to feel how adorable and soft they are. (Or, just go to Michael’s. If an employee sees you, you can just blame me.) 😉

The pom poms are attached by a thin cord.

I like how the colour varies so the blanket won’t just be a single colour.

This is the first time that I ever knit with this style of yarn. Thought it would be hard, but it’s easy and fun!

Basically, you just knit the cord between the pom poms and let the pom poms line up with each other. Because the pom poms are fairly large, they take up a lot of space, and I was able to go through an entire ball of this yarn in just 2 hours of knitting! (I think I’ll finish the baby blanket a lot sooner than I thought…Good thing, too, so I have more time to make the hat, scarf, and/or crocheted toy for my nephew before Christmas.)

Here’s what it looked like when I cast on the initial stitches and began knitting:

Here I’m using size 4 circular needles (29 inches). And, even though it looks like I’m knitting a circle, I’m not. The ends aren’t connected, so it’ll be a rectangular blanket when I’m done. 🙂

Here’s my progress so far:

Haha, it looks like a collar, doesn’t it! 😛 It also reminds me of Arkanoid, the old video game my brother and dad used to play and were so good at! (I sucked at it and always ended up accidentally taking the falling pill that would make you half the size…and therefore it would be harder to catch the ball to bounce it back up.)

It’s not perfect. I made some mistakes, but considering that my niece is just a baby and can’t speak yet, I don’t think she’ll complain! 😉

Here are some more photos with flash, in dim light, closer up, and father away.

I’m having so much fun using pom-pom yarn. When you knit with it, it feels super lightweight and soft. I feel like angels probably knit with this stuff up in heaven!

Haha, and now I want a baby blanket for myself! But I’ll refrain from making an adult-sized baby blanket. I’ll enjoy it vicariously through my niece. 😉

It would be nice to show you photos of my niece under the finished blanket eventually, but her parents are reallllllly strict and won’t allow me to post any photos of their kids, even newborn pictures! So you’ll just have to trust me when I say that she’s going to look so precious underneath it while she’s dreaming about what she’ll grow up to be one day. 🙂

What was the last thing you finished knitting or crocheting? If you could knit or crochet anything, regardless of skill level or material, what would it be? What’s the most unusual yarn you’ve ever knit or crocheted with?

This is so strange. I was sure that I replied to your comment and others, but it looks like I didn’t! AHHH…so sorry about this late reply!

Hey, crocheting is really cool, too. You can work faster with a crochet needle and even make interesting, rounded shapes.

I’m sure that if you gave a hat a shot, you’d be able to knit it. You know, this is only the second hat I’ve made, so if I can do it, you can, too. Check out the pattern that I’ve linked to. That woman also has YouTube knit-alongs to make it easier. 🙂 It really helped me.

I feel like a proud parent reading about your knitting escapades! It is a wonderful and relaxing practice! Your hat is adorable and you should let me know where you got the pattern!
I chuckled at the hat for your boyfriend. You should probably know about the “Boyfriend Sweater Curse”! Never knit for a boyfriend, they’ll invariably break up with you after you put all the work into the project. Go read the Yarn Harlot’s blog. She’s great and she’s a Canadian!
For an easy baby cardigan, go to http://knittingpureandsimple.com/ and hit the free pattern section.
I’m really loving the pom-pom blanket. I may have to look into that yarn! I’m kind of a yarn snob and love wool, but that yarn is just too darn cute!
Happy knitting!

Sorry about this tardy reply. I thought I replied, but apparently I didn’t. :S Geez!

I actually updated the blog post to include a link to the pattern. Enjoy! 🙂 The woman also has a YouTube channel. Check her out because she has a knit-along video (3 parts) that I watched when I was making this hat. They REALLLLLY helped me with the hat project.

I learned how to knit a few years ago, but I really haven’t since then. I want to get started again. I saw a book on how to crochet robots, and I really want to learn how to do that because I love robots! Your hat is adorable! I love all the yarn you’ve picked out and that baby blanket looks so cuddly and warm!Brianna recently posted: My Favorite Things Nail Art Challenge: Day 10- Your Favorite Mani!

Crocheting robots? That sounds really awesome! Do you remember the title of it? Because I need to check that out. What a fun project that would be!

Aww….thanks! 🙂 I’m really proud of my hat. I wasn’t even sure if I could complete the project, but the instructions were easy to follow. I’m already in the process of making a second hat (same style, but in purple).

OMG!!!! You are SO talented! The hat is so cool and look so advanced! I also want to start knitting, but I will have to start from scratch, I’ve forgotten everything from school 😛 A store nearby has lots of fun yarn as well and winter is coming, so it would be great with warm and home-made things 😀Gelic’ nail art recently posted: Black funky french with large pearl rhinestones

That’s such a great idea – if I have any extra pom-pom yarn, I’ll definitely have to make myself a scarf! 😀 Why should babies have all the fun. (I’m a big baby…)

Kudos to you for teaching yourself how to knit!

I agree with you about knitting being better…haha, but only because I suck at crocheting. For some reason, using two needles is more comfortable and ‘secure’ for me. When I use a single crochet needle, it feels off-balance. But I still want to practice crocheting more (well, I have to re-learn it because I forgot). Then I can make cool baby toys for my niece and nephew.

Just think of the finger holding your yarn as the second knitting needle. My other advice is to be very careful because with crochet, it’s harder to keep the tension the same especially if you’ve had a rough day. Practice, practice, practice!

You’re such a knitting fiend! Well its a good thing that when you start something you really dive into it 🙂 Your hat looks awesome and the bunny tail blanket looks sooo adorable. I was actually in Michael’s the other day and saw it and was petting it too, and the other colors lol. Seeing your end results and reading your post makes me really want to try knitting. I know of a few people who knit as well and it does seem addicting. I’ve only ever done crochet many moons ago when I was like 13 or around that age. I never finished anything and I remember trying to crochet a small blanket, but it kept going crooked and curling so I put it on my cat at the time cause it looked like a lil cape lol. She didn’t like it either though. 😛Frosso recently posted: Oopsie Daisies Mischief Night

Love it! I starting knitting a few years ago and its my favourite winter project (can’t stand to do it any other time of year for some reason). I knit myself a fabulous turquoise toque two years ago, looks a bit like your mustard hat. I would love to know where you got your pattern, if you’re okay with sharing?

I understand why you like to knit more in the winter – it’s a cozy hobby, isn’t it? 🙂 And it’s really difficult to knit in the summer unless you have air conditioning. (It’s not very nice to sweat all over something you’re knitting – eww!)

I tend to fall in and out of crafts so I haven’t been knitting a whole lot lately, but I do still love it. Are you on Ravelry? Such an excellent resource.

Very nice hat! I’ve probably made more hats than anything else because they’re pretty fast. Mostly they wind up being for other people, not sure how that happened. I like how the color repeats on your blanket have lined up diagonally. =)

No, I’m not on Ravelry, but I do poke around there every once and a while to get inspired by the stuff people make there. 🙂 Lots of great hats I’ve seen, and there are such talented people in that community. 🙂

You know, I didn’t know that the pattern was going to linen up diagonally like that. When I was knitting, the pom poms looked like they were just coloured randomly. Then the pattern formed, and it was pretty cool. That’s why I like knitting. You can see your progression…the pattern developing, and you get this sense of accomplishment that feels so good.

I have only ever knit a scarf, and I’m hopefully going to knit another one for myself this year. I’d love to be able to knit a hat..that seems like such a daunting task though!Elizabeth Langille recently posted: China Glaze Black Diamond

It’s not daunting at all. 🙂 Well, maybe at the very beginning because it’s hard to visualize the finished project. However, go check out the link I just added to the pattern. The woman has YouTube videos where you can knit along with her. I used her pattern and her videos. It made a world of difference and that’s how I was able to complete the hat! Try it – you’ll surprise even yourself. 🙂

I love the hat Mary, it looks great on you and you did a wonderful job on it! I have been trying to look up tutorials on how to knit / crochet on youtube. I really want to make a blanket for my little one before she gets here! This post encourages me 🙂 I love the yarn you got for the blanket it looks super cuddly!Amber recently posted: Urban Decay Sale Haul

Thank you so much! 😀 I found the knit-along on YouTube, actually. The woman who created it has 3 videos so you can really see how it’s done. I’ve edited this post to include that since a lot of people seem to be interested in making it, too. 🙂

I recently got back into knitting and decided that I’ll be giving all of the women in my family cable knit cowls for Christmas. I’m 3 cowls in and loving it so far. They are my first project to knit from a pattern, and I’m thinking of trying a hat next. Yours looks great!

Cowls are something that I would love to start knitting. They’re so versatile and fun to wear. Do you have any tips for making a good, chunky cowl? Or could you point me in the right direction for a basic, but not boring, cowl pattern?

It’s so cool how you don’t really rely on patterns. You can be more creative that way. 🙂

Nice work! The one time I tried to knit a hat like that it was so loose it came down and covered my eyes…LOL. I do crochet now when I need a yarn fix. 🙂 It may be tempting but don’t obsess over the little imperfections…a couple of little mistakes are nothing compared to all the stitches that go into making something. You’ll probably be the only one who will notice the mistakes and that’s because you’ll know where they are already!

Haha, well, it was a learning experience. 🙂 Hey, have you tried maybe sewing a thin elastic on the inside of your hat? Maybe then it’ll be tighter on the crown on your head and then you can still wear it. It would be a shame if you couldn’t really wear it comfortably after putting so much effort into it.

You do realize there are groups on Ravelry about nail polish, yes? I highly recommend There’s Fiber In My Polish. We’re a pretty fun group who talk about any and everything- and we’re always glad to help newbies or point ’em in the right direction.

We’d love to have you join us in the two obsessions. We’re awfully good enablers. 🙂